Student financial aid

With the rising cost of education, more and more students are searching for solutions, to manage their financial difficulties. Whether it is, the tuition fees, the lodging expenses, or travelling expenses, everything seems to be on a rise, except for the cash inflow. Student financial aids can prove to be very effective in taking care of a student's financial needs.

Now, Student financial aid denotes the funding, which is intended for helping the students pay for their educational expenses, such as tuition fees, boarding and lodging, books and stationary etc. the general government funds for public education does not refer to as financial aid, which means awards for specific students. Financial aids can be either merit based, or need based.

Merit-based financial aids include scholarships awarded by individual colleges and universities, as well as those, which are granted by outside organizations. These scholarships are granted for outstanding academic achievements. However, some merit scholarships might be awarded to acknowledge leadership potential, special talents, as well as other personal features, which could prove useful for the society in future. Scholarships are also granted for group affiliation, like in case of YMCA, where the members are granted scholarships.

As far as need-based financial aids are concerned, they are granted on the basis of financial requirements of the student. For the determination of the federal, state, as well as institutional need-based eligibility, the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) is usually opted for. In case of a private institution, a supplemental application might be required.

The federal government has been of great help in this regard. It has been providing for need-based federal aid, which is known as Federal Student Financial Aid. It is constitutes various grants, programs, scholarships, as well as loan programs, such as SMART Grants, Federal Pell grants, Academic Competitiveness Grants, Federal SEOG Grants, Federal Stafford loans, Federal Work-Study Program, Federal PLUS loans, Federal Perkins Loans, as well as State Student Incentive Grants.

In order to be qualified for federal student aids, a student is required to file the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA). It uses a calculation mode, which takes into account, various factors, like the income and assets, in order to evaluate the Expected Family Contribution of a student towards his college education in the year. The educational institutions use the Expected Family Contribution criteria, in order to decide, as to what kinds of financial aids, a student stands eligible for receiving. The students are required to complete the FAFSA every year, in order to be considered for the aid.